Trained Owl Flies the Coop at Local Zoo

According to officials at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Forrest - a Eurasian eagle owl who performs as part of the zoo’s “Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater” - has flown the coop. According to The News Tribune in T-Town, Forrest was rehearsing Wednesday when he “flew off and failed to come back.” So far zoo staff have failed to track him down.

A Eurasian eagle owl, but not Forrest.

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As The Trib’s Stacia Glenn reports:

For years Forrest has routinely flown away as part of the show and returned. On Wednesday, the zoo said he was “startled” by changes recently made to the stage while practicing for a new show.

Staff biologists spotted Forrest several times Wednesday but haven’t seen him since the late afternoon. Neither have they been able to pick up a signal from a device used to track the owl.

“Forrest likely is sitting high up in a tree and may be surrounded by a mob of crows unhappy about the owl’s presence in their territory,” staff biologist Sara Mattison said.

Described by the paper as “2 feet tall with a wingspan of 5 feet and has bright orange eyes,” Forrest the owl is 9-years-old and has lived at the Point Defiance Zoo since he was just a few months old.